Awarded for its leadership in community service, operational excellence, and safety and security, Metro's Oregon Convention Center (OCC) was celebrated at the recent convention, exhibition and performing arts centers industry conference and trade show in Houston, Texas, by the receiving the 2010 Venue Excellence Award.
Long-time OCC Executive Director Jeff Blosser believes the center's recognition by its peers – the first award of its kind – is due to the center's mission of making the most of the community's resources while striving to exceed client expectations through exceptional customer service, an especially difficult task during an economic recession.
The OCC's innovative business strategies were credited by the judging panel in distinguishing it from its competitors. One example is the decision to be the first to pursue LEED-EB (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – Existing Buildings) certification nearly a decade ago, a time in which no other convention centers considered LEED or sustainable operations a legitimate business expense. Achieving LEED-EB certification in 2003 and LEED-EB Silver in 2008 positioned OCC as the industry leader in operating sustainably and helped set a standard among venues nationwide. OCC's collaboration with Portland's destination marketing agency, Travel Portland, to create an online "green meetings toolkit," offering ways for convention and meeting planners to arrange environmentally-conscious events, was also an industry first and contributed to a shift in client needs and expectations throughout the country.
OCC's early engagement of social media strategies, including the use of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, to engage meeting planners and convention attendees was also mentioned.
Other unique initiatives, such as partnering with the center's largest collective bargaining unit to provide financial incentives to employees who meet annual recycling goals, was noted as an example of venue excellence. The OCC's commitment to community service, as evidenced by neighborhood clean-up projects during staff retreats and the joint partnership with its food and beverage contractor, ARAMARK/Giacometti Partners, to provide workforce training opportunities to disadvantaged individuals, also received high marks by the judging panel.